


Even If She Were A Dwarf

by CharlemagneGryffis



Series: Souls Have Names [3]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Genderbending, soulbonds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 16:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2628335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlemagneGryffis/pseuds/CharlemagneGryffis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Legolas looked her over. “You are the one from that picture of his.” He frowned slowly. “I had thought the artist was being kind, but they must be a failure at carving.”<br/>Gemli’s face turned red, knowing a compliment when she heard one. “Well I never! An elf, complimentin’ a dwarf! It must be the end of days!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even If She Were A Dwarf

Gloin glared at Legolas, and the elf glared back. Elrond saw them, and raised his eyebrow.

“Has there been a disagreement, gentlemen?”

Gloin stopped glaring to look at Elrond. “Princey over there is just remembering the fine thrashin’ we gave him sixty-odd years back.”

Legolas snapped back. “I hope the rest of your memory serves you better, for that is not true in the least, dwarf.”

Gloin stood, bashing his axe on the ground. “My memory is impeccable, elf!”

“’Sixty-odd years back’ – it was fifty-nine and a half years, you brutish thing!”

Gemli, who had been sitting down, stood up, bringing up her axe before speaking in her naturally deep voice. “Do not insult my father, you tree-shagger!”

Legolas looked her over. “You are the one from that picture of his.” He frowned slowly. “I had thought the artist was being kind, but they must be a failure at carving.”

Gemli’s face turned red, knowing a compliment when she heard one. “Well I never! An elf, complimentin’ a dwarf! It must be the end of days!”

Gloin, however, was glaring fiercer than ever. He raised his axe to Legolas’ chin, pushing up slightly. “You stay away from me little girl, elf. Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul for talking to my daughter that way!”

Elrond looked over to Gandalf as the two old enemies fought, Gemli becoming embarrassed as Legolas tried to take back his comment without insulting her or her father.

“I believe I can understand why you did not wish me to seat Master Gloin beside his Highness Prince Legolas.”

Aragorn snorted. “Ada, when I was a young man, Legolas would complain of the dwarves of Erebor from when they were in his father’s cells. Surely you have not forgotten?”

Elrond went to speak again when Gemli suddenly bashed her axe on her father’s foot.

“Father, please!” She said, ignoring how everyone was watching the argument with amusement. “Leave him alone!”

Gloin looked at Gemli, frowning. “Gemli, my girl-”

“Tauriel read the name on my arm for me.”

In an instant Gloin was silent, before he uttered, “And what, my girl, does it say?”

She raised her chin, auburn beard tugging out of her beard. “I’m not telling you. Wouldna be proper, ‘specially with elven customs.”

Legolas looked at Gemli with confusion. “Why would you tell him to leave me be?”

She glared at him, before quickly putting on a woollen mitten and taking his wrist, dragging him out of the council. Legolas followed her down to the end of the corridor, whereupon she let go of his wrist and started rolling up her sleeve, to show delicate elven script. Legolas read it with wide eyes.

“That’s my name.” He said in a murmur, shocked, before a hand went to the small of his back. “I have your name upon my back.”

Gemli looked him up and down. “I’m no gonna touch you until this is over, hear me? I don’t want ta die because you got yourself killed.”

He blinked himself out of shock, raising an eyebrow. “What is ‘this’?”

“Either, the council, or the quest that’s gonna happen. I visited Master Oin before I left – he had the portents. A dwarf would go on the quest to save Arda, along with four of Yavanna, a Maia of old, the Heir of Isuldir, a man of Gondor and an elf of the dying Greenwood.”

Legolas pursed his lips at the end, but nodded. “What of battle? What if we were to be in trouble?”

Gemli glared. “Wear gloves.” She said, before walking back off to the council, Legolas trailing after her.

* * *

Legolas looked over at the dwarven woman across from him. She had become his best friend – he wasn’t afraid to admit that, but what he was afraid to admit was something else entirely. How could you tell someone you were in love with them when you had never even touched?

Though, it figured that he had fallen in love with her _because_ of her reluctance to touch him. She didn’t want to be tied to an elf, but being separated burned – literally. Some days, he wondered how Tauriel ended up, before remembering not only was she married to Prince Kili, but had already given him three children, and was expecting a fourth, last time he saw her.

It worried him, to be honest. While the situations Tauriel and he were in, were similar, they were only that – similar. For one, Tauriel was the female in her relationship with a dwarf. Legolas – if Gemli eventually permitted it – would be the male. It worried him. It worried her. He could tell. Every time the quest settled down for the night, when no-one was willing to tell stories or it was just too cold, he saw her looking. Her emotions were clear on her face, though others might not see it.

And she trusted him.

If he told her he knew, she would immediately deny it, but she had let him touch her beard. Tauriel may not have been able to give away many secrets, but she told him the basic rules of dwarven culture, and the first rule was never, _ever_ touch another dwarves beard. It was synonymous to touching someone’s privates, which had embarrassed him greatly when she told him – though she hadn’t been fazed, apparently used to being brash and using coarse language when it came to dwarves. She wasn’t afraid anymore, not of Thranduil, not of anyone.

He missed Tauriel, but with Gemli, the hole in his heart was more than filled.

Sighing, he watching the final ash-clouds disperse, and wondered how Frodo was doing. He had been taken from Mount Doom by the Eagles – apparently – and was dropped off in Rivendell. He, Gemli, Aragorn, Gandalf as well as Merry and Pippin were in Gondor, primarily because they were preparing for Aragorn’s coronation in a month and they still had to repair the city.

Seeing she was about to wake, Legolas watched her, wondering why he loved such a small and sturdy little creature. Upon her opening her eyes, she saw him and almost immediately glared, drawing a chuckle out of him.

“What you staring at, elf?”

He grinned, winking at her. “Just a fine dwarf. She’s got the most auburn beard, its unreal.”

_Point to Legolas_ , he thought to himself as she went red, spluttering.

“You can’t just go around complimentin’ someone’s _beard_ like that Legolas. Why, if I did’na know better I’d say you were…” She trailed off, looking away stoutly. Legolas’ grin faded, before he stood and came over to where she sat against the wall, sitting down beside her.

She glanced at him warily. “All is said and done, yes?”

He nodded without words, stretching out his right hand as he brought his knees up.

He watched her draw up some courage, smiling when she spoke.

“Would you like to Bond, elf?”

He only grabbed her hand and dealt with the pain that came with it. Because she was worth it. Even if she were a dwarf.


End file.
